


Charlotte and Jane

by HappilyInhuman



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
Genre: Boarding School, Extremely Slow Burn, F/F, F/M, Female Dudley, Female John Watson, Female Sherlock Holmes, Male Elizabeth Hardy, Young John Watson, Young Sherlock Holmes - Freeform, female AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-24 22:59:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14365539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappilyInhuman/pseuds/HappilyInhuman
Summary: Meeting in boarding school as children, this story follows Charlotte Holmes and Jane Watson on their journey to adulthood and beyond.Illustrated by Sims 3.Inspired by '85 Young Sherlock Holmes, BBC Sherlock, and the books :)





	1. Jane Arrives

It was a warm, bright, breezy day in mid-fall. The school year was just beginning, and a lack of funds had caused my old school to shut down. As such, I was being sent to a new one...a bustling girls’ boarding school right in the heart of London.

 

I was used to the open air and the wide expanse of the countryside-now I found myself deep in the city, surrounded by every activity imaginable. 

 

It was all extremely beautiful to someone like me, who was highly accustomed to a smaller population. I loved the roar of the crowds as people rushed by, headed to work or school. Finally my taxi stopped, and as I stepped out, the sight of my new school drove a wave of anxiety over me.

 

Luckily, curiosity overwhelmed my fear.

 

Soon I had stepped into the main dorm room. It was a very plain room, lined with beds and not much else. Each bed had a small trunk at its foot, a very sad excuse for storage. I slipped off my back-back and sat it on top of the trunk, unloading a few books before I stepped back to breathe in my surroundings.

At the bed beside mine, stood a girl a bit taller than myself. She had long, curly black hair and piercing, beautiful blue eyes. She was holding a violin, and although she _looked_ quite graceful playing it, the sound was so very _ungraceful!_

Suddenly, a mad look came over her face, it seemed she had an idea.

I tried to yell, “Stop!” But before I could, she'd let the violin fall from her hands and smash upon the floor. “Oh my goodness! Isn't that expensive!?” My face was still scrunched up in horror, and I realised I'd bit my own tongue!

“Well my sanity is _more_ expensive,” The girl spoke calmly, as though she didn't just smash an instrument, “Besides, I should have mastered the damn thing by now.”

 

“How long have you been playing?” I asked, still flabbergasted.

 

“Three days.”

 

“Well then...perhaps you should have been patient.” I said, giggling.

 

She headed toward the dorm's kitchen, gesturing for me to follow, “You're the new girl, right?”

 

“Yes,” I confirmed, “I'm-”

 

“Wait!” She said firmly… “Let me.”

She looked me over for a few seconds. I was confused, what was going on? She was emotionless for a few seconds before suddenly smiling.

“Your name is Joan Watson,” She stated, very close to the truth.

“You're from the north of England-”

“Your grandfather is a doctor, you spend a lot of time writing, and you have a love for custard tarts,” She laughed.

She gave me a look, clearly wondering how she had done.

“My name isn't Joan it's Jane.” I slightly huffed, though secretly I was impressed.

“Ahh, Joan, Jane, what's the difference…”

“A great deal…” I answered.

“Very well, so your name is Jane. How did I do on the others?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Correct...every count.” I admitted, “What did you even do? A magic trick?”

She laughed, “Ah no, Jane, just deduction.”

She pointed toward the bed area, “The name tag on your bag says J. Watson. I guessed the common name Joan-”

“Your shirt,” She points out, “I've only seen that brand name once while visiting the north of England. You have a callus on your finger indicative of a writer, and you're carrying the Hunter’s Encyclopedia of Disease, an old book which was originally not available to the general public.”

“Someone of your age _clearly_ hasn't been to medical school, so I assumed an older relative, someone very dear to you who was concerned for your health-your grandfather.”

 

“And the custard tarts?” I asked, seriously curious. The girl dusted her sleeve off, not even the slightest bit unnerved at being asked.

“Ah, simple Jane! You have a yellow stain on your sleeve, that particular type of custard is used in the making of custard tarts.” She smiled, “And well, your shape has convinced me you've eaten a lot of them.” I scrunched up my face.

 

“Well there's no need to be rude.” Came my reply, though I was generally unaffected by the jab.

“Ah well, come on, we haven't got all day.” She headed toward the door.

 

“What?” I asked, surprised but not questioning her, “Where are we going?”

 

She stopped for a second, “You wouldn't want to miss _Chemistry_ class, would you?” She asked, slightly appalled at the thought.

 

I hurried along behind her. As she poised herself in front of the door my curiosity got the best of me yet again. “So what's _your_ name then?”

 

She turned with a smile, “Holmes. Charlotte Holmes.”

Then she was running out the door, and I was just struggling to keep up…

 


	2. Chemistry Class

As Charlotte and I walked beside each other to class, we continued our conversation. Charlotte seemed to enjoy explaining, and well, my curiosity drew me to hang on her every word. “My mind never rests, Jane.” She says, “Like a fine-tuned instrument, it itches to be played!”

 

“How does one go _about_ fine-tuning a mind?” I asked her.

 

She smiles again, “Problems of logic, mathematical equations...riddles even.” She said, very sure of herself. “For example,” She turned toward me then and I stopped as well, “You are sat in a room with an all southern view. You see a bear walk past the window. What colour is the bear?”

“Red!” I insisted immediately.

“What?” She asked, giggling, “Now why would the bear be red?”

“The southern sun is very hot...the bear would be terribly burned!”

 

“Now, I think, Jane, that _that_ is the most absurd answer I've ever gotten.” Then she turned back toward the science building up in the distance, “C’mon, we better run or we'll be late.”

 

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

 

The chemistry lab was a quite packed room, little girls, science equipment, and books filled it. The entire class was extremely nonchalant. The young teacher in charge was too busy looking at her feet, and so everyone was leisuring about.

Charlotte and I had sat ourselves behind the chemistry station we were sharing. We tried to pay attention to the young woman who was in charge, but she seemed a bit too tired to teach effectively.

Suddenly I heard a soft knock to the left of my head. When I looked over I saw….a boy! A boy at a girls’ school! And how'd he even get on the roof outside of the window!

It wasn't long before Charlotte had noticed him as well, and it seemed she'd been expecting him. She leaned down close to his ear so that he could tell her something I couldn't hear.

It was crazy that the class didn't seem to take any notice.

He passed her a note, and then-

The teacher didn't even notice any of this puppy love happening in the back of her classroom. She smiled at the class, exhausted, “Any questions?”

I was too distracted by Charlotte and...this boy. I looked back just in time to hear him tell her, just loud enough that I could hear: “Meet me in the library?”

Just like that he was gone.

 

It was like the sunlight had left with him. Stars were left behind.

 

Charlotte acted unaffected as she returned to her chair at a calm pace. I looked at her like she had four heads. “That was a _boy!”_ I remarked.

“Excellent deduction, Jane.” She smiled.

I giggled and pointed at the ditzy blonde at the front of the classroom, “She didn't even _notice_!”

Charlotte shrugged, “Well yeah, she's dense!”

I got curious again. “So who is he, and what's _he_ doing at a girls’ school?”

“His name is Eli. After the death of his parents, he came here to be with his Aunt, a retired schoolteacher who still lives on the grounds.”

 


End file.
